


Brighter (when you make me fade)

by casbutty



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Bottom Tyler, M/M, Mild Kink, Top Josh, one instance of namecalling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-16
Updated: 2015-06-16
Packaged: 2018-04-04 16:59:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4145574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/casbutty/pseuds/casbutty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"But this time it’s different. It’s different because this isn’t just Tyler dancing in his awkward little way or putting on a show or moving to a beat only he hears inside of his head. This is Tyler on a level Josh has never seen."</p><p>alternatively, the one where Brendon is a bad influence, Josh gets turned on and jealous in equal parts, and Tyler gets what he wants.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Brighter (when you make me fade)

**Author's Note:**

> oops. my hand slipped.  
> this one goes out to my sad gay friend. I apologize in advance if it's bad. but I tried.  
> the title is from Make Me Fade by K.Flay, which is what I was listening to when I got the idea for this but actually has nothing to do whatsoever with the story.
> 
> This is completely unbeta'd so I'm sorry for any mistakes.

Josh has seen Tyler dance before. He’s seen his awkward shuffles and his goofy jumping and his on-stage shaking and the swaying he does when he plays ukulele. They dance to songs all the time, laughing at each other’s increasingly ridiculous attempts at popular dance moves. Tyler will never let Josh live his adventure into twerking down (it made Tyler laugh though, that dumb breathless laugh from when they were younger and Tyler wasn’t so tense, so it was okay).

But this time it’s different. It’s different because this isn’t just Tyler dancing in his awkward little way or putting on a show or moving to a beat only he hears inside of his head. This is Tyler on a level Josh has never seen. 

Then again, they’d never gone to a club together after a show. Mostly they just spent their post show high drinking more Red Bull than healthy and eating tacos in their hotel room, maybe playing a little bit of Mario Cart if the high hadn’t worn off by the end of their feast. 

The thing about going on tour with other bands is that when you’re only two guys, you get outweighed easily. Josh had told Tyler that they could just bail, that he didn’t have to, but Tyler just smiled and said “why not,” so Josh went along with him. 

Brendon picked the club, somewhere with “good atmosphere, great music, and even greater drinks” as he put it. Pete had agreed, so they all piled into their cars and went, jittery and kind of sweaty and talking a mile a minute, reveling in how freaking amazing their show was, how much fun they had. Josh even noticed that Tyler had stopped fidgeting, saw Tyler smile and smiled back at him in response. 

When they got there, Brendon was still leading, taking all of them to the bar and ordering a round of drinks that Josh had never heard of. He and Tyler just followed the leader, sipping their obligatory drinks slowly as the others ordered more rounds. Josh turned each round down, not in the mood to chase a buzz. 

When Brendon apparently thought enough drinks had gone around, he demanded that they get up and dance, which led to Josh being in the middle of a giant crowd, feeling bass in his chest as the song playing dropped. He looked around for his friends, not finding any of them under the strobing lights. Really, he wasn’t in the mood, and after a couple of minutes of vague swaying he finally picked his way out of the crowd, settling back against the wall and looking for anyone he knew. 

He found Brendon, hands on the waist of some girl he’d apparently found, the smile on his face dirty enough that Josh felt kind of scarred just looking at it. He averted his eyes, slowly picking other band members out of the crowd, trying not to linger too long on any particular encounter. He still hadn’t found Tyler, though, which made something twist up in his chest. 

It wasn’t his fault he was worried. He knew that Tyler got nervous in crowds, knew that he could be on his way to panic as Josh dumbly searched. He felt almost guilty, leaving Tyler alone like that. 

But then he finds him. 

There’s a person on each side of him. One’s pressed up against Tyler’s back, hands on his hips, head hooked over Tyler’s shoulder. He’s kissing the person on the other side of Tyler, whose got his knee between Tyler’s legs, arms wrapped around his shoulders. Tyler himself has his head leaned back against the one in the back, his face almost blank, except for the way his mouth is open in an almost blissful way. 

Josh’s cheeks heat as he watches, realizes he’s been staring sort of creepily and looks down. He’s never seen this. Never seen Tyler hooking up with anyone. Never watched him dance against someone. Never seen his face look like that. 

He didn’t even know Tyler liked guys (except for that one time Tyler had mentioned vaguely that he ‘did stuff’ with a guy one time, late at night when they were playing a game of Never Have I Ever, just the two of them in a warm hotel room). 

He looks back up, sees the way Tyler’s lifted his head and is actively participating in the dancing now, sliding down between the guys, hands running down the front one’s sides, sliding back up with an almost predatory face, ass pressed back against the guy behind him. He throws his arms up around the guy in the back’s neck, grinding against him obscenely enough that Josh almost forgets that it’s Tyler, his best friend Tyler, out there. 

He almost chokes as Tyler bucks his hips up against the thigh of the guy in front, his face going slack as he does it. 

This is a bad position, because he needs to stop looking but he can’t look away. How could he, when it’s right in front of him, turning him on and making him jealous in equal parts? 

He’s about to look away again, about to go find a drink or maybe just a dark corner to sulk in, when Tyler’s eyes turn towards him. Josh freezes, watching Tyler watch him. He can feel his cheeks heat, but he can’t look away when Tyler’s eyes pin him there. 

Tyler grinds against the leg in front of him again, except now he’s looking at Josh, and Josh can see perfectly the way Tyler’s eyes flutter, the way his mouth parts a little more, the way his arms are shaking just a little. 

Josh licks his lip unconsciously, and he knows Tyler has seen it, knows Tyler sees him watching and licking his lips and blushing, and he feels sick with himself. He’s being a total creep, getting off on watching his best friend dance with some guys. Tyler’s always given him privacy with girls, never watched from a corner as he flirted or kissed.

Tyler probably thinks he’s a freak, and the thought washes cold water over him, the small buzz he had going completely gone. He gets up hurriedly, knocking over a martini glass in his haste, and walks out of the club. The cool night air makes him shiver, and Josh didn’t realize quite how hot and heavy the club had been until now. He walks to the alley right next to the club, sliding down the wall and closing his eyes. He sucks in deep breaths, trying to push out all of his thoughts about Tyler with each exhale. 

He beats himself up more, wondering what the hell he’s going to say to Tyler when he sees him, trying to figure out how to explain why he was just staring at him. For some reason Josh doesn’t think “oh I was just really turned on by watching you grind up against those guys, and hey, do you think you could do that with me?” would cut it. They’ve been friends for years, and Josh had never looked at Tyler that way, had never wanted to touch Tyler the way he did now. 

Sure, they were close friends. They always had been. They shared everything, and they knew each other’s little secrets, and they were completely in tune. Each knew what the other needed. That was how their friendship worked. How it had always worked. Josh loved Tyler. 

So yeah, sometimes he though “man Tyler looks really good in that”, but it wasn’t like that. He thought Tyler was amazing, and spectacular, and handsome, and perfect. But he wasn’t in love with Tyler. He most definitely wasn’t in love with Tyler. 

Except for the fact that apparently he was, and he’s so royally screwed. 

He’s on his way to a full on panic attack when he hears footsteps running down the sidewalk. He thinks for a terrifying second that he’s about to be mugged, right here in a dirty alley in the middle of some random state he’s never been to. But then the person turns the corner, and it’s Tyler. Of course it’s Tyler. 

The first thing Josh notices is the flush on his cheeks. It’s light pink, a splash of color across his tan cheekbone. His pupils are larger than normal, and he’s heaving breaths like he’s just run a marathon. His lips look red and slick. Josh takes in a shuttering breath.

“Josh, are you okay? You- you left, and you didn’t come back, and I was worried.” Tyler says, and god Josh loves him, loves his voice and his worry and every single thing about him. Josh’s chest aches. 

“Uh, yeah. I’m fine. It just got a little too heavy, I think. It was, um, hot. And I needed some fresh air.” Josh answers, trying and failing to sound level. Tyler looks like maybe he doesn’t believe Josh, but then he just nods. Josh’s eyes slip down from Tyler’s, trip down to his lips, and his slim hips, and his thin fingers, and land on the front of his pants, which are very tight and outline the shape of his erection perfectly. 

Josh sucks air violently through his nose and looks down, at the floral shoes on Tyler’s feet. Thinks the pink of the flowers matches the pink of Tyler’s blush. Wonders if the blush runs down his chest too. Hears Tyler swallow with a click and glaces back up to his face. 

Tyler has this look about him, a little hopeful but mostly anxious, as he meets Josh’s eyes. “You saw.” He says, his voice sounding forcibly nonchalant, as he’s never been with Josh, never had to be. 

“I- um, kinda- I just-,” Josh can’t even get the right words out, hates himself for it. Tyler saves him from further stuttering by interrupting. 

“You didn’t look away.” Tyler says, not like an accusation but a simple statement. Josh’s voice cracks over his answered “no, I didn’t.”

Tyler looks down at his shoes, looks at the wall across from Josh, glances upwards before settling back on Josh.

“Why didn’t you look away?” He asks, like he’s afraid of the answer, like he’s ready for a slap in the face, as if Josh is in any position to be upset at Tyler. 

“I couldn’t.” Josh says hoarsely. When Tyler opens his mouth to ask more, Josh shakes his head and continues, “I knew I should have. I wish I did. But I couldn’t look away. It was too much, Ty. You were too much.”

Tyler’s brows knit as he absorbs this, as he tries to formulate some response. Josh doesn’t know if there even is a proper response to what he just said. He’s afraid, and his heart is beating fast and loud, and he thinks that if Tyler says anything nearing negative he’s going to break. He can’t lose Tyler. Not to this. 

“I didn’t want you to. I wanted you to look Josh. I wanted it.” Tyler says, and then he’s dropping onto the concrete roughly and grabbing the back of Josh’s neck, pressing their lips together. Josh forgets to breathe for a few seconds, feels Tyler pulling away, face screwed up like he’s about to start apologizing, amending, fixing. 

Josh doesn’t let him get that far, taking Tyler’s face between his hands and pulling him forward again. Tyler makes a surprised noise against his mouth, but he closes his eyes and kisses Josh like it’s all that he’s ever wanted. Josh slips his hands down to Tyler’s waist, pulls him into his lap, feels Tyler’s dick against his hip, feels Tyler gasp into his mouth. He takes the chance to slip his tongue inside, licking into Tyler’s mouth like he can get rid of any trace of anyone else. It seems that Tyler doesn’t mind, because his hips stutter against Josh’s hip and his hand tightens on Josh’s neck. They kiss until Josh is breathless, panting into the space between their mouths and feeling lightheaded. 

“We can’t keep making out in an alley.” Tyler says, sounding far away. Josh tips hazy eyes up towards Tyler’s, seeing the urgency there, agrees that they should probably get somewhere a little less public right now. 

“The hotel a few blocks away.” Josh says, hating the way his lap feels cold when Tyler leaves. He looks down at himself, at the obvious bulge in his pants, doesn’t really care that much. 

They find a cab, finally, and Josh licks Tyler’s neck while he garbles out the hotel name to the driver. Josh finally backs off after a few warnings from the driver, but keeps his hand firmly on Tyler’s thigh the whole way. 

Josh has never checked into a hotel so fast, but he’s also never had Tyler subtly pressing an erection into his hip as he tries to tell the desk attendant their reservation name. Josh spares a thought to hoping no one recognizes them, blushing and almost completely gone on each other. 

The elevator ride seems to take forever, with Josh’s hand in Tyler’s tight back pocket, pushing Tyler towards him as they kiss, a little less heatedly than before but no less intent. 

Tyler’s hands are shaking so bad he can barely get the room key in the slot, but when he does Josh pushes him through the door, crowds Tyler up against the wall and breathes onto his lips, slots a leg between Tyler’s. 

“Do you know what it did to me, Ty? To see you between those guys, rubbing all over them, letting them touch you?” He asks, his voice low in his throat. Tyler’s eyes go skyward, and he moans as Josh moves his thigh against his cock. 

“Fuck, Tyler. You were so hot, dancing like it was what you were meant to do. When you looked at me I thought I was going to combust.” Josh places wet kisses from the base of the of Tyler’s neck up, whispers “and you were putting on a show just for me, weren’t you?”

Josh is almost scared, doesn’t know if Tyler likes this, likes the talking he does, but then Tyler groans a little in the back of his throat and bucks his hips against Josh. 

“Please, Josh, please please.” Tyler breathes out as Josh bites at his neck, as he sucks until a bruise blooms on Tyler’s collarbone. Josh looks up at him, looks at the way his cheeks are even pinker than before, wonders what he can drag out of Tyler when he’s like this. 

“Please what, Ty? What do you need?” He asks, pulling back slightly only to have Tyler’s hands scrabble behind his shoulders, holding him in place. He places kisses under Tyler’s jaw, feels the bob of his Adams apple as he swallows.

“I don’t know. Something. Anything. Please.” Tyler gets out between breaths, looking helplessly at Josh, like he isn’t quite sure how he got here and he isn’t quite sure that he wants to stop. Josh pulls off the wall, tugging Tyler with him and shuffling them to the bed, letting Tyler’s knees hit the side. Tyler looks at Josh once before climbing on, lying against the pillows and watching Josh. Josh takes off his shirt, first, pulling it over his head. He toes out of his shoes, then he goes for his pants, hears Tyler gasp as he slips his jeans over the erection in his boxers. Finally he pulls his socks off, tossing them onto the floor and climbing in between Tyler’s legs. 

He fits his hands behind Tyler’s knees, tugging him down until his cock is right against Tyler’s ass, Tyler's knees bent and parted on either side of Josh’s hips. Tyler’s eyelids slip shut as he shifts himself against Josh, open again when he hears the moan Josh lets out at the motion. Josh reaches for the hem of Tyler’s shirt, pushes it up to his arm pits and gets it off of him. Runs his hands up and over all of the skin he’s uncovered afterwards.

Josh leans down, fits his fingers between the ridges of Tyler’s ribs, kisses the middle of his chest. He can feel Tyler breathing heavily against his fingers and his lips, feels the rumble of Tyler’s moan when he licks across one nipple before biting it. Tyler keeps shifting his hips, rubbing back onto Josh’s cock, little bursts of friction that make him even more impatient. 

“Did you think it was cute, Tyler? To make me jealous? To tease me like you did?” Josh asks against Tyler’s collarbone, knows Tyler hears him from the way his breath stutters. 

“I just- fuck, wanted you to pay ah- attention to me.” Tyler answers, voice breathy and words stumbling. Josh would smile at the effect he has on Tyler, but that’s not what this is about. 

“That might be part of it, but I think it was something else too.” Josh says, sliding down the bed to press wet kisses against Tyler’s ribs, his hips, the very edge of his jeans. “I think that you liked it, being between those guys. I think it turned you on to have them pressed all over you. Did it, Ty? Did you like being slutty?”

Josh realizes, after he says it, that he might have crossed a line. Tyler can be fragile sometimes, and Josh just throwing out “slut” probably isn’t good for his self esteem in that case. Josh stops to look up at Tyler. 

Tyler is completely gone, face red and hair wild from throwing his head against the bed. He’s panting, open mouthed, and he doesn’t look like Josh threw him into a mental breakdown. Josh moves himself even further down, rubbing his face his face against Tyler’s erection. “Answer me, Tyler.”

“Yes, fuck Josh, yes, I liked it. And- and it was even better with you watching. I thought I was going to c- ah, come, just from the way you looked at me.” Josh groans against Tyler’s cock, making Tyler moan in return. Josh decides he can’t wait, reaches to unbutton Tyler’s pants and pulls down the zipper. He pulls Tyler's shoes off first, throwing them near the door. Then he grabs the top of Tyler's pants and Tyler’s boxers, pulling both all the way down his legs and tossing them on the ground. He looks up at Tyler, looks at his dick, sees how hard it is and thinks how strangely pretty it is. 

Josh can barely keep himself from touching it, but he does. He leans down till he’s almost rubbing it with his nose, breathing steadily on it but not moving to touch. 

“Would you have let them touch you like this, Tyler? Would you have let them take you back to their room and fuck you into the mattress?” Josh asks, hears the deepness of his voice. Tyler leans up, looking right into Josh’s eyes, shaking his head frantically.

“No, no Josh, I want you, only you. Wanted you to push them away, fuck me right there in the club. Please, Josh, please.” Tyler says, and Josh can’t believe it, can barely register the fact that he heard that come from Tyler’s mouth. His entire body flushes hot, and he reaches down, taking Tyler’s dick in his hand. Tyler moans Josh’s name out low and deep in his relief, reaching his hands up to cling to Josh’s shoulders, digging nails in as Josh squeezes. He’s moaning right into Josh’s ear, and Josh realizes how painfully hard his cock is. 

“I’ll be right back, Ty. I gotta get lube. Stay right here.” He says, feels Tyler’s hands on him tense before letting go, feels Tyler’s eyes on him as he slips out of bed. He finds his bag, unzipping and finding the lube and condoms all the way at the bottom of the back, dutifully packed but barely used. He tosses them on the bed and slides his boxers off as walks back to bed. Tyler’s eyes look him up and down, and it’s strange, to be completely naked in front of him in this situation. They’ve seen each other naked, but they’ve never lingered. Now it’s different. It’s intimate in a way that they’ve never been before. Josh is suddenly nervous. 

He meets eyes with Tyler, lets Tyler slide his hands up his arms to clutch at his biceps. He leans down, kisses Tyler again, slides their lips together and flicks his tongue before pulling away. 

“Are you sure, Tyler?” He asks. Tyler smiles a little, nods, spreads his legs a little further to let them bracket Josh’s hips again. 

Josh pops open the cap of the lube, coats his fingers with it, presses one gently against Tyler’s entrance. Tyler squirms and tenses, but Josh soothes his other hand down Tyler’s thigh, mumbling encouragements. He presses the first finger in, hears Tyler’s gasp, keeps going. It takes him a little bit, but eventually he’s got Tyler opened up around three of his fingers, listening to him moan wantonly and thrash his head back and forth on the bed. 

“Look at you, Tyler. All open and wanton for me, ready for me to fuck you. Do you want me to fuck you Tyler?” He asks, even though he knows the answer, just to hear Tyler’s gravely voice say, “yes, yes, please Josh, fuck, please.”

Josh pulls his fingers out, wiping them off on the bedspread. Tyler is wincing at the loss, hips twitching, looking at Josh with pleading eyes as Josh slides a condom on, coating it in lube. When he’s got himself lined up, he reaches one hand up to Tyler’s face, clutching his hot cheek. 

“Beg for it one more time, just for me, Ty.” Josh says, thinks Tyler is about to cry with how he squeezes his eyes shut and his breath hitches. 

“Please, please fuck me Josh, I need it, I need you inside me Josh, please.” Tyler’s voice breaks on the last please, his chest heaving with almost-sobs. Josh shushes him, runs hands down his ribs, grips the knife-edges of Tyler’s hips and slowly pushes in. 

Tyler moans so loud Josh thinks people on the next floor can hear him, but he keeps going, pushing until he’s fully seated inside of Tyler, both of them groaning when he bottoms out. Tyler’s thighs are quaking around Josh’s hips, so Josh massages them with gentle hands, letting Tyler breath deeply and adjust. 

Tyler is tight, tighter than anything Josh has ever felt, and he wants to ask Tyler if this is his first time, if he’s ever felt anything like this before, if he ever thought anything could be this good. Josh knows this is his first time with a guy, and he doesn’t think he’ll ever find anything better than this, him between Tyler’s thighs, watching as Tyler’s wet lashes flutter, a tear track down his cheek, whispering Josh’s name like a mantra as Josh slowly shifts his hips backwards. 

When he pushes back in Tyler’s hands dig into his biceps, and Josh wonders if he’ll have finger shaped bruises there tomorrow. The thought makes his hips twitch forward into Tyler, making Tyler groan. He builds this rhythm, slow and deep, with Tyler’s knees bent and his ankles hooked behind Josh’s ass. 

Josh’s thighs hurt from the way he’s kneeling, so he shifts around, getting Tyler upright. Tyler wraps his arms around Josh’s neck, then sits back down onto Josh’s cock, moaning at the feeling. Josh gets his hands on Tyler’s hips again, helps push him up and pull him back down. They’re close, with Tyler’s legs around Josh’s waist, their chests sliding together, Josh kissing Tyler’s neck as Tyler throws his head back.

At some point Tyler must have closed his eyes, because now he looks at Josh, eyes blown and hair wild. Josh tries to give him a questioning look, but his hard when he can barely keep himself from gasping at every slide of Tyler on him. Tyler must get it though, be it their connection or Josh’s actual facial success. 

“C- can you, ah, fuck, Josh, can you go h- harder?” Tyler asks, but it’s more like a whisper from the way his voice is wrecked, higher than usual and cracking over words. Josh thinks it’s probably from all the screaming, and the fact that he did that to Tyler’s beautiful voice makes him feel even hotter all over. 

“Okay, Ty. Alright.” He says into Tyler’s neck, then drops Tyler down onto the bed, not even giving him time to adjust before he’s fucking into him again. Tyler lets out an “oh, oh Josh!” and holds onto Josh’s shoulders with his nails. 

Josh drops down onto his elbows, so he’s face to face with Tyler, hands right next to Tyler’s head. It’s different this way, seeing every shift in Tyler’s face, watching his eyebrows knit and then shoot up, his eyes squinting and then widening, mouth opening and closing. Josh looks right into Tyler’s eyes as he fucks him harder, drinks up every stuttered gasp Tyler gives him. 

Then Josh shifts his hips just right, feels Tyler’s entire body tense as he yells and digs his nails into Josh’s shoulders. Josh keeps hitting there, relentless as Tyler lets out little broken moans, too far gone and voice too shredded to do anything else. 

Josh can feel himself start to lose rhythm, the feeling of Tyler all around him too much to handle. He presses his face into Tyler’s neck, kisses there as he gets a hand between them and wraps it around Tyler’s dick. Tyler bucks up into his hand, whispers “J-Josh, oh please.”

Tyler comes first, breaths hiccupping as he spills between them. Josh kisses up and down his neck, cursing brokenly as Tyler clenches around him. He barely gets in three more thrusts before he comes, grinding into Tyler and moaning Tyler’s name as he leans down to bite his shoulder. Tyler twitches at the pain but otherwise stays still, breathing heavily as his hands slide down Josh’s arms. 

Josh gives himself a few minutes to catch his breath before he shifts out of Tyler, almost laughs at the little distressed sound Tyler makes and the motion of his hands grabbing for Josh again. Josh ties off the condom and throws it in the trash, then finds his shirt to clean them up. He throws it back to the ground, climbing into bed with Tyler and pulling the covers up over them both. 

Tyler tugs Josh closer, wrapping a heavy arm around Josh’s chest and throwing a leg between Josh’s. Josh smiles, kisses the top of his head, placing his arms around Tyler. Something comes to his mind and he almost laughs as he says it. 

“Where did you learn to dance like that?” He whispers between them, smiling despite himself. Tyler’s face scrunches as he tries to understand, but when he does he groans.  


“Oh my god Josh.” He answers, and Josh thinks that if his face wasn’t already bright red he would have blushed. Josh can’t stop himself from laughing. 

“I just want to know Tyler! I never knew what a seductress you really were.” He says, laughs harder as Tyler shifts and makes more upset noises. 

“Shut up, Josh.” Tyler says, and when Josh opens his mouth to say more Tyler glares up at him and says “twerking.”

That’s enough to shut Josh up. At least for now. He sticks his tongue out at Tyler before settling back down. 

“I like you even though you’re secretly a pole dancer.” Josh mumbles into Tyler’s hair, who just huffs out a laugh and shakes his head. 

“I like you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> i'd like to apologize to my mom and also jesus.  
> but not really.


End file.
